There is a moment in Super Mario Odyssey when you realise this is a game quite unlike any Nintendo has ever made before. That moment isn’t when you really get to grips with the inventive sentient cap-based gameplay; nor is it your first foray into the beautifully detailed sandbox world; and it isn’t the sight of everyone’s favourite plumber romping around New Donk City, surrounded by businessmen in suits and fedoras. That moment, of course, is when you first catch a glimpse of Mario’s nipples. Captivated, you freeze time and zoom in for a closer look.

The classic everyman character, Mario is a flawed, flabby, glorious creation, just like every one of us. In that frozen moment – face contorted with delight, right arm thrusting upwards, fist clenched in celebration of another perfect leap – Mario is joy personified. He is, like any good everyman, wearing nothing but polkadot boxer shorts and a chef’s hat. His moustache, curled upwards towards his shiny blue eyes and plump root vegetable nose, is caught fluttering in the breeze. And there, on his hairless pink chest, sit two nipples.

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But enough about nipples. The genius of Mario has always been in its inventiveness. As the architect of the platform genre, the franchise has continually sought to redefine it. In Odyssey, Nintendo’s breakthrough is less about changing what has come before and more about realising the untapped potential of it. This is a vast, complex game. It rewards exploration. What’s behind that poster? What’s around that corner? Swing the camera around and lo-and-behold, a secret tunnel is revealed. Not only is the world itself a puzzle to solve, so is the way in which you explore it. Throw Cappy, your trusty sentient hat, at a Goomba and you become that Goomba. Throw it at a rocket and you become that rocket. Fancy being a fish? Get that hat on a Cheap Cheap. Cappy is the greatest sartorial addition to a Mario game since Mario donned a Tannoki costume in 1988.

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The final version of the game Nintendo previewed before its release on October 27 focussed on three Kingdoms: Cap Kingdom, Luncheon Kingdom and Seaside Kingdom. This is the first truly open-world Mario platformer since Super Mario Sunshine was released on GameCube in 2002. Appropriately, Mario’s traditional move-set has also been restored and, for the first time since Sunshine, he can dive. After detours into the brilliant Super Mario Galaxy and New Super Mario Bros spin-offs, it feels sublime to be hurtling around another sandbox Mario world. At first glance, it looks familiar (there’s even some paint to clean up) but Odyssey soon sets about messing with the Mario formula. Case in point: you’ll spend very little time in the game as Mario.

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In Cap Kingdom, you throw Cappy at a frog to leap to high platforms; in Luncheon Kingdom you bounce around as a ball of slimy fire; and in Seaside Kingdom you possess blob-like purple octopuses encased in water to reach new areas. The big challenge throughout Odyssey isn’t working out how to defeat an enemy, but rather working out which enemy (or object) you should hurl Cappy at to solve the latest environmental puzzle. It’s a mechanic that forces you to approach Mario’s familiar surroundings in new ways. In Bubblaine, one of the areas of the Seaside Kingdom, for example, you have to make your way to the top of a lighthouse. With no staircase to climb, getting to the top requires working out what new abilities you can gain from the enemies scattered throughout the world.

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It’s a simple mechanic kept fresh by the sheer variety of enemies and interactive objects at your disposal. From the traditional cast of Bullet Bills, Cheep Cheeps and Goombas to strange, new and as-yet-unnamed creations, Odyssey keeps exploring fun by switching up the rules at every turn. Even as Mario, the outfit you wear opens doors that were previously closed to you, further expanding the game world.

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At its most conventional, Odyssey hits you hard with Mario nostalgia. In Bonneton, the first area visited in Cap Kingdom, defeating the Broodals – Bowser’s wedding planning rabbit henchman – is a familiar jump, ground pound, repeat affair. It’s a two-decade-old formula that Nintendo should be in no hurry to mess with. But for every moment of familiarity, there are countless instances where Nintendo has clearly had great fun messing with its own formula.

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At their two extremes, sandbox games either offer too much or too little support. Odyssey gets it just right. Though the worlds are expansive, they are cunningly chopped-up into a series of mini-puzzles and side quests. Make a beeline straight for the main objective and you’ll miss most of the game. The incentive to explore is maintained through the scattering of coins and Power Moons, the latter being the game’s main collectable. Get enough Power Moons and new worlds open up to you. Get them all and, inevitably, Odyssey will reward you with a mystery prize.

But exploring is about a lot more than trying to 100 per cent the game. Find yourself intrigued by a volleyball net and you’ll lose most of your evening to achieving nothing. Oh, and is that a dog on the beach?! What happens if you throw Cappy?

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Which brings me back to Mario’s nipples. Aside from Cappy, the other significant addition to Odyssey is photography. Press down on the directional buttons on the left Joy-Con and the game will instantly freeze, letting you capture whatever is happening on screen. You can zoom in, pan, apply filters (including NES, SNES and GameBoy-style graphics) and then save and share your creations. Flip the image vertically and it’ll automatically resize to make the perfect wallpaper for your phone.

Photography is an in-game mechanic that Nintendo has been playing around with since the 1999 release of Pokémon Snap on the N64. It most recently cropped up in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and while previously it has been functional, here getting snap-happy is purely frivolous. But that doesn’t mean it won’t change how you play the game. Can you get the perfect shot of Mario hurling Cappy at the camera? Or of Mario mid-leap, nipples out, face smiling towards the sky? Armed with a digital snapper and some Instagram-style filters, Mario’s adventures become shareable in the social media age. This, in turn, encourages you to slow down your progress through the game and take in the little details.

Super Mario Sunshine remains one of Nintendo’s greatest, and most underrated games. After 15 years, Odyssey is a long-overdue return to Mario’s roots. The worlds are huge, the graphical details beautiful and the controls effortless. But, most of all, this game is full of heart and soul and humour and joyous serendipity. It’s a world where new adventures are always just a hat’s throw away.